VFH Project 5 | 2020 | Winter by Henk_Lamers

VFH project | 5

2020

Winter

Jeanne de Bont Henk Lamers

| 21

Table of contents

Winter 2020 | 2021

Weight

Price

Origin

Transport

Farming

Environmental score

Global costs

Markets and Supermarkets

Quality labels

Blockbrush

Waste

Pickled herring salad

Resources

The Earth’s solstices come twice a year. For the Northern Hemisphere, this year’s winter solstice happens on December 21. Image by NASA.

Winter 2020 | 2021

We are going to close 2020 with the astronomical winter. It starts in the Northern Hemisphere around December 21. The sun is then perpendicular to the sky in the afternoon. That day is also the shortest day of the year. At least the same number of hours remain available, but it is less light than dark. This astronomical winter ended on March 20, 2021. The food industry was also in constant motion during this season. Farmers blocked the distribution centers of several supermarket chains. What was the reason? For example: in the supermarket you pay one euro for a broccoli, but after deduction of all costs, the farmer only gets five euro cents in return. The farmers felt they were being squeezed and they Farmers blocked the roads around the Dutch government center in The Hague.

wanted more money for their products.

Image by VRT NWS.

Now it is a bit more nuanced. According to research by the Wageningen University on behalf of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) of the Ministry of Agriculture, it appears that the farmers were paid enough. ‘All parties involved in the food chain receive a reasonable share of the profit’, said engineer WHM Baltussen. We think it would be good if a dialogue was started between the farmers and the Ministry of Agriculture. Agriculture is responsible for most of the nitrogen emissions in the Netherlands. The sector must therefore take steps to reduce emissions and thus reduce the pressure on vulnerable natural areas. The farmers say they have already taken many steps to reduce ammonia and nitrogen emissions. They believe that it is now the turn of the industry, shipping, air traffic and construction. In short, the way we now produce and consume food is completely outdated. The production of food now leads to exhaustion of the system. The food industry has to change. We really need to get rid of the meat tax, slaughter tax and the kilo bangers.

Weight

Few fresh products come from the open ground in winter. The farmland is deserted and has time to rest. Available winter vegetables are: pumpkin, parsnip, carrot, celeriac, beets, Brussels sprouts, kale, palm cabbage, sauerkraut, white and red cabbage. During this period, we often use vegetables and fruit that are in storage, products that can be stored for a long time, such as cabbage, nuts, apples and pears. Speaking of weight, these are also the heavier products. We have to make do with what there is and that is also the charm of winter. To make dishes with the little that is available but very tasty.

Scientists are still not sure which kind of cabbage was eventually cultivated. What is known is that the cultivation of the first cabbage plants by humans took place about 4800 years ago. It is suspected that the ‘primal cabbage’ from which the numerous cultivars have been grown comes from the Mediterranean coast. Turkey may have played an important role in the domestication of cabbage. On the other hand, there is the notion that the Celts first cultivated cabbage in the British Isles. Under the latter hypothesis, sea kale (Brassica maritima) would be the ‘primal cabbage’ and had been cultivated for the first time about 5200 years ago. The general view is that the cabbage is originally a plant of saline coastal areas. The plant must have been able to withstand high concentrations of salt and strong winds. In addition, it is likely that the plant grew on very poor soils. The leathery leaves protected the plant from stone chips and fierce sandstorms. The different types of cabbage are biologically one, Brassica oleracea, which, however, has been cultivated by humans in different directions, depending on the part of the cabbage that is eaten: the flowers and part of the flower stems in cauliflower and broccoli. The leaves of Chinese cabbage, pak choi, red cabbage and white cabbage. The axillary shoots in Brussels sprouts.

Nutritional value per 100 grams white cabbage Brassica oleracea General Carbohydrates 4.00 grams Energy 124.00 kilojoules Energy 30.00 kilocalories Protein 2.00 grams Sugar 4.00 grams Vitamins Vitamin B1 Vitamin B2 Vitamin B6 Vitamin C

0.04 0.04 0.15 29.00

milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams

Minerals Calcium Iron Magnesium Phosphorus Sodium

30.00 00.05 9.00 30.00 8.00

milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams

Some vegetables are best eaten in season because they are intended for that purpose. You don’t eat a heavy meal when it’s high summer, for example. Some vegetables need frost to taste even better. Think of sprouts you harvest from a frozen land, those are the tastiest sprouts you can eat. This winter we ate potatoes, white cabbage, onions, celeriac but also still a significant amount of cherry tomatoes.

We ate 6.865 kilos of potatoes and 3.705 kilos of cherry tomatoes. In total 50.259 kilos of vegetables about 550 grams per day for the two of us. Not bad.

This winter we ate, outside the usual citrus fruits, mandarins, persimmons and apples. It was a real transition period and you can see that we still have to get used to other types of fruit in winter. But we have banned one type of fruit and that are the blueberries. You can only buy these in the winter when they come from South America.

In winter you can only eat the perennial herb plants from the open ground, such as rosemary, thyme or bay leaf. Furthermore, all herbs come from greenhouses or from distant countries. Mint is still number one. We bought 2.295 kilo of mint this season. To cut costs and avoid transport, we bought herbal plants. While they are generally plants grown very fast to give a quick volume, they do last a while and can be eaten several times but in general they don’t last for long.

Price

The price of fresh vegetables is determined by several factors. The yield, its quality and the public demand. You also have the effects of subsidies and taxes from the government. For example, RIVM (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) is considering using the latter two factors to encourage the consumption of healthy fruit and vegetables. When we look at the price of vegetables that are important to us now and in the coming years, we will have to deal with completely different factors. After all, we are going to grow them ourselves. Factors will be: the price of the seed, the materials to grow and bloom and the weather. Anyway, we are still dealing with the normal prices. We have also spent most of this season on cherry tomatoes, followed by spinach, rocket and cucumbers.

It is not known exactly when Chinese cabbage became a cultivated crop. According to some sources, Chinese cabbage has been cultivated as a vegetable since before the beginning of our era, but there are also those who write that the vegetable has only been cultivated from the end of the Middle Ages. It is clear, however, that it took a long time before the vegetables arrived in our regions. First, this type of cabbage was also introduced in Korea and Japan. Together with China, these countries are still by far the largest consumers of Chinese cabbage. It is even more or less the most important leafy vegetable. In the nineteenth century, the vegetable also arrived in other East Asian countries. Then the United States and Europe followed. However, cultivation remained very small-scale in Western Europe for a long time. Chinese cabbage has only been available in the Netherlands for a few decades. Since then it has been hard, it has gone from a littleknown vegetable to a well-known vegetable that many people eat regularly, even if only as part of a stir-fry mix.

Nutritional value per 100 grams Chinese cabbage Brassica rapa, subspecies pekinensis General Carbohydrates Energy Energy Protein

2.00 71.00 17.00 1.00

grams kilojoules kilocalories grams

Vitamins Vitamin B1 Vitamin B2 Vitamin B6 Vitamin C Vitamin E

0.03 0.04 0.05 23.00 0.10

milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams

Minerals Calcium Iron Magnesium Phosphorus Sodium

125.00 1.00 11.00 45.00 10.00

milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams

No complaints about diversity even in this winter period. We ate 46 different vegetables this season. Of this amount we spent the most money on cherry tomatoes, more than 21 euros. Followed by cucumbers, rocket and spinach. In total we bought 237.77 euro worth of vegetables this season.

There is also a lot of diversity here, and that in winter time. Thirteen different fruits that‘s a high score. Most of the money went to the kiwis. Over 88 euro. Then come the oranges and grapefruit. A whole new kind of fruit for us was the nectarcots, a cross between nectarine and apricot. The range will change in the coming years to fruit that is available in the Netherlands during the season. After which it will change again in the future due to the fruit from our own garden, which can be stored well.

We used twelve different herbs this season. Except for mint, we used all spices in cooking. Mint is still at the top of the list with an amount of more than 32 euro. In total we spent an amount of 73.58 euro on herbs.

Origin

The vast majority of vegetables grown here do not come from our regions at all. Most come from the Mediterranean and Asia. But from the sixteenth century, America also brought us new kinds of vegetables. Today, all those vegetables are grown on a global scale and depending on the season in the respective country of origin. So we have been thinking and working internationally for a very long time. But now with our food forest and growing our own vegetables, we suddenly have to start thinking locally again. So we have to learn which types of vegetables can be grown here in the Netherlands. Not all vegetables will grow well here and we will have to deal with this. It will be a step by step process to get this done. In a few years’ time we will be able to show how we have tackled this and what the results are.

Wild celery, the archetype of celery, has been known since ancient times. Originally, the plant was found in the Mediterranean area. The ancient Greeks, the Egyptians at the time of the pharaohs and the Romans, among others, used the leaves, seeds and other parts for medicinal, ceremonial and religious purposes. The plant soon spread all over the world. Celery also plays an important role in Ayurvedic traditions and classical Chinese medicine. Wild celery has only a very modest tubercle, just like bleach and leaf or cutting celery. Little is known about the moment in history when celery began to be grown for the tuber, in order to eat it as a vegetable as well. This probably happened somewhere in southern Europe around the beginning of the sixteenth century.

Nutritional value per 100 grams celeriac Apium graveolens variant rapaceum General Carbohydrates Energy Energy Protein

5.00 158.00 38.00 2.00

grams kilojoules kilocalories grams

Vitamins Vitamin B1 Vitamin B6 Vitamin C Vitamin E

0.03 0.03 6.00 0.05

milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams

Minerals Calcium Iron Magnesium Phosphorus Sodium

80.00 1.00 13.00 90.00 80.00

milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams

The potatoes are doing fine again this winter with just under seven kilos. There is a battle going on for second place. The smallest amount of vegetables, 45 grams, was for shiitake mushrooms from the Netherlands.

We ate a lot of different types of fruits this winter. Khakis, white and red grapes, mandarins, apples, melons, bananas, kiwis, limes and nectarcots but also the usual, oranges and grapefruits. Together more than 107 kilos and from fourteen different countries.

Many of the organic herbs you can buy here are grown in Belgium. Basil, coriander, tarragon and thyme plants come from the Belgian greenhouses. Ginger and peppers come from far away. If we want to continue to eat those herbs, we are currently dependent on foreign countries. The idea is to grow a large number of herbs when we have settled in Almere Oosterwold. We can try to grow ginger and chili peppers in our future greenhouse.

Transport

In the winter you have to deal with storage of fruit and vegetables. Types of vegetables such as cabbage, Brussels sprouts, potatoes and beets are vegetables that can be stored for a longer time. It is difficult to assess whether this has a positive effect on all transport costs since this area is not very transparent. There is simply no data available. But you can also sense that a bunch of sugar snaps from South America requires more transport than a red cabbage from the Netherlands. It is important for us to choose certain products in order to create the right balance and have as little transport as possible. In any case, we are on the right track.

Chicory is a creation of the nineteenth century. During the period that Frans Bresiers was head of the Brussels Botanical Garden (1826-1836), he forced chicory in the mushroom cellar. White heads developed on the roots until it became a stocky, crispy vegetable. He found that darkness, warmth and humidity were indispensable for chicory. Forcing means —vegetable farming in the dark—, was a French invention of the seventeenth century. The white leaves arise because the light cannot reach the plant. Without daylight, the plant does not produce chlorophyll, the green dye. This new vegetable was first sold on the Brussels market in 1867. But the official announcement of this new plant took place at the international horticultural exhibition in Ghent in 1873. A little over ten years later, ‘Brussels lof’, also called ‘witloof’, was for sale in the Parisian Halls. The crops became larger and firmer over time due to improvements in cultivation techniques. Due to the success of this new vegetable, more and more farmers around Brussels and Leuven switched to chicory cultivation. In the first half of the last century, this ‘white gold’ even provided great agricultural wealth.

Nutricional value per 100 grams chicory Cichorium intybus General Carbohydrates Energy Energy Protein Sugar

2.40 78.00 19.00 1.30 2.40

grams kilojoules kilocalories grams grams

Vitamins Vitamin B1 Vitamin B2 Vitamin B6 Vitamin C

0.05 0.03 0.11 0.04

milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams

Minerals Calcium Iron Magnesium Phosphorus Sodium

22.00 0.20 10.00 34.00 2.00

milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams

Fortunately, the white bar behind the Netherlands is getting longer and longer. That’s is a good sign. Now we have to limit the list of countries that are located far from the Netherlands.

Transport of fruit will only decrease if we make dramatic choices and stop buying certain types of fruit. But our health also plays an important role in this. We look for the right balance. There is still a lot to gain from only buying organically grown fruit and that is our focus for now.

What makes a fruit successful as a table fruit in Western regions. There are several qualities that make a fruit successful to grow. First of all, of course, the taste, but also the size determines whether it is worth growing and harvesting a fruit. In many varieties, breeders have succeeded in making the fruits much larger than they were naturally. In addition, shelf life, transportability and whether you can reap the fruit before it is fully ripe are important criteria. Sara Muder, De natuurkalender.

The long white bar behind the Spain header is striking. That’s where most of the spices came from. But we also use a lot of basil and almost all of those plants come from Belgium. It is still not clear why the Netherlands cannot supply organic herbs itself. We probably don’t have the knowledge in-house.

Farming

We are very happy that almost all of the vegetables we ate this winter were organically grown. That is a good step towards an ecological life. Another good development is that many supermarkets now also offer organic vegetables. For example even the AHXL in Eindhoven has its own department for organic vegetables. That is not the case in all cities, so apparently people in Eindhoven find it important. Besides this we eat far less meat and more vegetables. All in all we are on the right track.

Brussels sprouts probably existed before 1200, although not as beautiful as now, but still. The illustration in Daléchamps book makes it clear that it is a cultivated plant, but apparently not widely cultivated at the time. We find the idea that it originated in or near Brussels has little credibility. Perhaps the fact that it was first offered, named and or registered there on the market. In any case, there is general consensus that the cultivation of Brussels sprouts actually started somewhere between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in northern Europe. However, it took until the early nineteenth century before Brussels sprouts became a truly commercially available vegetable.

The original French name is ‘Choux de Bruxelles’. In many languages, including Afrikaans (Brusselspruit), English (Brussels sprouts), Italian (cavolini di Bruxelles), Polish (brukselka), Turkish (Brüksel lahanası) and Swedish (Brysselkål) people still refer to Brussels. There are both green and purple sprouts. The Netherlands (South Holland, Flevoland, Zeeland and North Brabant), France and Great Britain are the frontrunners when it comes to production. The Netherlands around 82,000 tons in 2003, declining to 51,000 tons in 2018. It is curious that until 1960 the sprouts were picked by hand, eight to nine times a season.

Nutritional value per 100 grams Brussels sprouts Brassica oleracea General Carbohydrates Energy Energy Protein

5.00 195.00 47.00 2.30

grams kilojoules kilocalories grams

Vitamins Vitamin B1 Vitamin B2 Vitamin B6 Vitamin C Vitamin E

0.11 0.08 0.19 132.00 0.06

milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams

Minerals Calcium Iron Magnesium Phosphorus Sodium

7.00 0.60 22.00 85.00 7.00

milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams

Illustration in the book ’Histoire generale des plantes‘ by Jacques Daléchamps, 1586. 22

Almost 46 kilos of organic vegetables compared to 4.5 kilos of traditional agriculture. That’s a good result. Potatoes are still at the top of the list of most bought. We should finally stop eating asparagus in the winter. That also applies to the green beans.

In this graph you can see at a glance that the fruit category is not good. Way too many white bars on the right side of the chart. About 73 kilos of non-organic fruit and more than 34 kilos of organic fruit. Even though it is very tasty all those grapes, bananas and kiwis it would be better to buy them in organically grown form.

January is the quietest month in the garden. But just because it looks quiet doesn’t mean that nothing is happening. The soil, open to the sky, absorbs the pure rainfall while micro organisms convert into usable nutrients for the next crop of plants. The feasting earthworms tunnel along, aerating the soil and preparing it to welcome the seeds and bare roots to come. Rosalie Muller Wright, Daily Gardener

It is still difficult to find organic herbs in the Netherlands. Here and there you will find a pot of organic basil or thyme, but that is about it. We don’t think the dried form of herbs is good enough. They give a completely different taste than the fresh herbs. A small pack of dried tarragon really can’t compete with a sprig of fresh tarragon.

Environmental score

It is always nice to view these overviews in graphs because they give a direct and good picture of the situation during this winter. This is also one of the graphs that will disappear when we start farming ourselves. It seems unlikely to us to start working with environmental scores, but maybe something else will take its place. For now, we are still moving in the right direction.

Environmental score explanation We have again interpreted the fruit and vegetable calendar as accurately as possible. A B

Comes from the Netherlands, is in season, from a field (organic) and has a quality mark. Comes from the Netherlands or Europe, is in season, from a field or a greenhouse (organic) and has a quality mark. Comes from the Netherlands or Europe, is in season, from Dutch greenhouses (not organic) and has no quality mark. Comes from countries such as Israel, Egypt, Morocco (about three thousand kilometres), is out of season, comes from Dutch greenhouses (not organic) and has no quality mark. Comes from Africa, South America, Asia or New Zealand (about ten thousand kilometres), outside or within the season (it doesn’t matter), comes from Dutch greenhouses (not organic) and has no quality mark.

Environmental score chart On the left side of the chart we listed the countries where the products come from. Products themselves are listed in the second column from the left. In addition, there are five columns with A, B, C, D and E. In those columns you find white small squares. The number of squares indicates how often we bought a product in spring with that particular classification. At the bottom of the graph, the total is again shown per column.

Most of items are joined in category B and that is not so bad for a winter season. A pity that we still have a few items in group E products coming from Egypt, Ethiopia and Mexico.

Oops, the score for fruit is less rosy. Even under the category E we see a significant amount of white squares, as many as 25 pieces. Only four white squares in group A. Fruit is a problem child. We need to see what we can do about this.

Here we see most of the white squares in the middle of the chart for categories B and C. Some of the herbs fall into categories D and E. What is striking is the large group of white squares of the mint in category C at the bottom of the chart.

Global costs

Global food production covers a large area with many different products and complex agricultural techniques. The production line consists of successive steps that must be performed accurately. If the production line stagnates at one step, the activities of the subsequent steps run into problems. Production costs vary greatly from country to country. Different organizations are responsible for the production of food. Here in the Netherlands we are dealing with the NVWA (Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority). They oversee safe food production. We wonder if we will end up with similar issues when we start growing our own fruit and vegetables.

Winter purslane, white winter purslane or little winter purslane (Claytonia perfoliata, synonym: Montia perfoliata) is an annual plant of the Montiaceae family. The species used to be included in the purslane family (Portulacaceae). The species grows naturally in North America. The plant came to Western Europe via Cuba. The species is cultivated in England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany as a hardy purslane, but also occurs in the wild in all these countries. Because of the route by which the plant arrived in Europe, the plant is called ‘Kubaspinat’ in Germany. The word purslane is derived from the Old French porcelaine (fourteenth century), which in turn is derived from the Italian porcelaine, which originally means vegetable. In addition, there is a link from Latin with the word porcus ‘pig’, because pigs would also like to eat the vegetable. This vegetable contains a relatively high content of vitamin C, which is reflected by the fresh and sour taste.

Nutritional value per 100 grams winter purslane Claytonia perfoliata General Carbohydrates Energy Energy Protein Vitamins Vitamin B1 Vitamin B2 Vitamin B6 Vitamin C Minerals Calcium Iron Magnesium Phosphorus Sodium

1.00 54.00 13.00 1.00

grams kilojoules kilocalories grams

0.06 0.04 0.03 4.00

milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams

125.00 3.00 67.00 70.00 30.00

milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams

This winter we spent a total of 726.71 euro on vegetables, fruit and herbs. Most of the money went to Spain followed by Italy. The Netherlands is in third place with 115.29 euro.

The word ‘vegetable’ has no precise botanical meaning in reference to food plants, and we find that almost all parts of plants have been employed as vegetables - roots (carrot and beet), stems (Irish potato and asparagus), leaves (spinach and lettuce), leaf stalk (celery and Swiss chard), bracts (globe artichoke), flower stalks and buds (broccoli and cauliflower), fruits (tomato and squash), seeds (beans), and even the petals (Yucca and pumpkin). Charles Heiser, Seed to Civilization

This season we achieved a better result than in the fall. Only forty euros difference between organic and non-organic products. Most of the non-organic products came from Spain and Italy. Two more bad outliers in the chart are South Africa and Peru.

The longest white bar behind the heading Netherlands, is good for about 114.29 euro. Then again in second and third place, Spain and Italy. Fortunately, the products from distant countries are becoming less and less. All in all a good result.

Markets and supermarkets

It is not always clear to consumers which policy the various supermarkets have and why. The transformation to a organic food chain is slow. But as we mentioned earlier, the AHXL in Eindhoven has its own corner for organic fruit and vegetables. It’s unclear why all AH stores don’t have one. The supermarkets have a great responsibility and can encourage people to buy organic products. Fortunately, there are completely organic supermarkets such as Ekoplaza and Odin. In addition, we see more and more organic markets appearing. Every larger city has its own weekly organic market. You often find organic farm shops in the countryside and the number of online stores with organic products are rising.

Diospyros khaki (khaki tree or sharon fruit) originally grew in the Yangtze valley in China, the tree spread and became feral over much of China and Japan. In 1780 a Japanese specimen was described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Thunberg, he gave the species the Japanese khaki as its second name. The khaki tree grows in Asia in mixed, deciduous forests on the edge of the subtropical evergreen forests. Diospyros khaki grows into a large shrub to small tree with a dense, rounded crown, up to 25 meters high in the area of origin, and up to ten meters in cultivation. This tree has long been under cultivation for its edible fruits; there are no fewer than 2800 selections. In rural China, the persimmon is considered a fruit with mystical properties, which can be used to cure headaches, back and foot pain.

Nutritional value per 100 grams khaki Diospyros khaki General Carbohydrates Energy Energy Protein Sugar

18.60 329.00 77.00 0.50 18.60

grams kilojoules kilocalories grams grams

Vitamins Vitamin B1 Vitamin B2 Vitamin B6 Vitamin C

0.02 0.03 0.01 16.00

milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams

Minerals Calcium Iron Phosphorus Magnesium Sodium

10.00 0.10 19.00 11.00 1.00

milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams

The relationship between the market and supermarket is as follows. We bought vegetables, fruit or herbs for 646.11 euros on the markets. On the other hand, we bought vegetables, fruit or herbs for 66.41 euros in a supermarket. That is interesting to know. We are clear market visitors. The pure organic suppliers, the sustainable market and Ekoplaza together account for an amount of 315.12 euros. But we also bought organic products at Sligro and AHXL and occasionally at the regular market or at the Jumbo supermarket.

Winter is the season dominated by bare soil: the whole gardening cycle begins with the care and preparation of the earth during winter so that it will feed plants the following year. One of the things I enjoy about digging (and there are lots of things I enjoy about it) is the smell of the earth that is released by the spade cutting in and lifting clods that have been buried for a year. Not only does the soil itself have a real scent, but the roots of the crop or plant – even weed – that has been growing there will also contribute to the mix, creating something new out of the vague remnants of last season’s garden Monty Don, Gardener

Quality labels

There is a jumble of logos and wordmarks that indicate the quality of the products. It is almost impossible for us as consumers to remember or distinguish all those brands. In addition, supermarkets have also developed their own organic labels. To make it easy to recognize organic products, they are now packaged in supermarkets. They do this because it cannot be seen from the outside whether a product is organic. You can place a quality mark on the packaging of the vegetables so that you know what you are buying. Always check whether there is an EKO, European Organic or Demeter label on it, because these are mandatory.

Top ten quality labels for food

ASC Farmed fish, crustaceans and shellfish

MSC Sustainably caught wild fish, crustaceans and shellfish

Better Life Animal Welfare

PlanetProof, dairy, eggs, fruit, vegetables, flowers and plants

Demeter Biodynamic Agriculture

Rainforest Alliance Tropical fruits, coffee, tea and chocolate

EKO Organic products

Fairtrade Fair prices for producers

EU Organic label Organic products

UTZ Sustainable agriculture for people and nature

Vegetables Organic cultivation is free of pesticides and fertilizer. In addition, organic plants always have their roots in the ground and they are given time to grow in their natural rhythm. That is the great advantage of organic cultivation. The attention that is paid to the purity of quality. One could also come up with a quality label for that. This winter we bought only seventeen vegetables without an organic label, but we bought most vegetables with a European Organic label. Two vegetables had a Planet Proof label and 22 vegetables an EU quality label.

Fruit We still bought 77 pieces of fruit without any quality label. Compared to 51 pieces of fruit with a quality label.

Herbs Unfortunately, organic herbs are hardly available. We bought 25 herbs (bags or plants) without any kind of quality label. Against this are the 22 purchases of herbs with a quality label. Sixteen had a European Organic label and six herbs had an EU quality label.

Blockbrush

One last minor variation on the May 2013 program. The program is still the same. Only 26 minor changes have been made to the keyboard layout. In this winter version of the shopping lists, the letters Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee and Ff have a gradient that runs from the left (color) to the right (black). The letters Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll and Mm have a gradient that runs from the bottom (color) to the top (black). The letters Nn, Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, Ss and Tt have a gradient that goes from the top (color) to the bottom (black).

The letters Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy and Zz have a gradient that goes from the right (color) to the left (black). So we have had all horizontal and vertical variations and the year is over.

A History of Typing is a History of Writing From the Gutenberg Bible to 21st century typing requirements, life simply would not be the same without the typewriter. Typewriter history is as interesting as it is completely relevant to our modern lives; a keyboard is likely sitting in front of you right now. Although technology will continue to progress, the familiar, now redundant QWERTY layout is not likely to change any time soon. www.allthingstypewriter.com/ history/

Shopping list 2020-21-21

Shopping list 2021-01-07

Shopping list 2021-01-14

Shopping list 2021-01-21

Shopping list 2021-01-28

Shopping list 2021-02-04

Shopping list 2021-02-11

Shopping list 2021-02-18

Shopping list 2021-02-25

Shopping list 2021-03-04

Shopping list 2021-03-11

Shopping list 2021-03-18

Waste

This winter we had more than 6.6 kilos of waste. In general, the amount of vegetable waste in 2020 will fluctuate between 5 and 6 kilos per season. Also the fruit must be peeled such as apples, pears, mandarins. This is also the season of the various fresh nuts. Walnuts and hazelnuts produce the necessary waste. In the winter period we often eat firm vegetables such as white cabbage, cauliflower, potatoes, Brussels sprouts or parsnips. Those vegetables result in more waste. Unless you also eat the cauliflower stalk and make perfume from the mandarin peels, but we never do that.

The name of the genus Pyrus comes from the Latin pirus (variant) meaning ‘pear tree’, a PanRoman name of unknown origin. The species name comes from the Latin communis ‘common’. The pear originates from the foot of Tian Shan (a large system of mountain ranges in Central Asia), where pears were bred three thousand years ago. Remains of pears have been found in remains of prehistoric pile dwellings in Swiss lakes. Homer, in chapter seven of the Odyssey, describes the orchard of Alcinous: ‘There grow trees in it, tall and beautiful: pear, pomegranate and apple trees that bear beautiful fruit and sweet figs and beautiful olives. All that fruit doesn’t rot in the summer, nor fall off in the winter, but it stays all year round.’

Nutritional value per 100 grams pear Pyrus communis

Theophrastus van Eresus described three varieties of pears and the grafting and pruning. Marcus Porcius Cato Censorius maior described five races. Plinius the Elder listed 38 varieties of pears in his book Naturalis historia and described a preparation for stewing pears in honey. Monarchs such as Louis XV and Louis XVI who were crowned in Reims Cathedral were given a pear and a glass of champagne as gifts; Marie Louise van Savoye, lady of a bedchamber, also received a pear. When Charles X of France was ordained in 1825, the mayor said: ‘Nous vous offrons ce que nous avons de meilleur: nos vins, nos poires et nos cœurs.’

‘We offer you the best we have: our wines, our pears and our hearts.’ Henry III of England received pears from the official of the city of London that came by ship from La Rochelle. In the seventeenth century, three hundred varieties were known in France, a thousand in the nineteenth century and five thousand in the twenty first century.

General Carbohydrates Energy Energy Protein Sugar

11.70 226.00 53.00 0.30 10.00

grams kilojoules kilocalories gram grams

Vitamins Vitamin B1 Vitamin B2 Vitamin B6 Vitamin C

0.01 0.01 0.02 2,00

milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams

Minerals Calcium Iron Magnesium Phosphorus Sodium

5.00 0.10 6.00 12.00 1.00

milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams milligrams

In total we had 6.623 kilos of waste this winter. That is quite a lot. The cauliflower stands out because you throw away more than you eat it. There you have it, the potato is number one on the list with 1,373 kilos of waste. But there are also a range of vegetables that have little or no waste such as: Alfalfa, bean sprouts, beetroot, bimi, cherry tomato, Chinese leek shoots, cucumbers, sea lavender, mushrooms, portobello, radish, rocket, sweet potato, tomatoes and watercress.

In total we had 31.327 kilos of waste from the fruit this winter. That is a lot when you see that we bought 107.52 kilos worth of fruit. The biggest culprits are all citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons and grapefruit. The peels of citrus fruit cannot be used for other purposes for us either. All you can do with it is make zest of it.

Perhaps mint waste distorts this chart about the herbs. Finally, we completely used the mint before it ended up in the waste bin. This also applies to products such as coffee. You use them completely and only then do they end up in the waste. Maybe we can think of a second purpose for the mint. Such as the coffee grounds that you can mix through the compost so that the soil becomes more acidic. There is still much for us to discover in the coming years.

Pickled herring salad

Lead time about 35 minutes For two persons

This is a recipe that makes a delicious potato salad and is a welcome change to eat in the winter. The combination of potato and apple gives a nice fresh taste. You can consider mixing in another tablespoon of Dijon mustard to make it complete. The quality of the potatoes and apple are of great importance and determine the final taste of the salad. The pickled herring and the combination with the heavy Frisian rye bread make it a real winter dish.

Ingredients: 400 Grams waxy potatoes 1 Apple 2 Shallots 4 Sprigs of dill 1/2 Bunch chives 4 Tablespoons Greek yogurt To taste apple cider vinegar Pepper and salt

Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes of about 1 cm by 1 cm. Cook them al dente in salt water. Peel the apple and shallot and cut the in small parts. Mix the shallot, apple parts and potato cubes in a large bowl and stir in the Greek yogurt. Chop the chives and the dill very finely and mix them with the salad. Finally, drizzle some apple cider vinegar into the potato salad and season to taste with ground pepper and a little salt.

Finnish off: 4 Pickled herring fillets 4 Slices of Frisian rye bread

Serve a scoop of this fresh potato salad with a herring fillet and a few slices of fries rye bread, spread with butter to taste.

Photo by Henk Lamers

Resources ACM, Autoriteit Consument & Markt, Den Haag, Netherlands AHXL, Albert Heijn, Zaandam, Netherlands ASC, Farmed fish crustaceans and shellfish, Utrecht, Netherlands Better Life Animal Welfare, Beter Leven, Den Haag, Netherlands Demeter, Driebergen, Netherlands De natuurkalender, Stichting voor Duurzame Ontwikkeling, Wageningen, Netherlands EKO Organic products, Ede Netherlands EU Organic label, European Commission, Brussels, Belgium Fairtrade, Bonn, Germany Het voedingscentrum, Netherlands Nutrition Center, Den Haag, Netherlands Jeroen Meus, Dagelijkse kost, VRT één, Brussels, Belgium Ministry of Agricultur: Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit Monthy Don, Gardeners’ World, bbc.co.uk MSC Sustainably caught wild fish, crustaceans and shellfish, London, United Kingdom NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, USA NVWA, Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, Utrecht, Netherlands Planet proof, Den Haag, Netherlands RIVM, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment Seed to Civilization, Harvard University Press / De Gruyter, hup.harvard.edu/catalog The Daily Gardener, thedailygardener.org The Rainforest Alliance, Amsterdam, Netherlands UTZ Sustainable agriculture for people and nature, Amsterdam, Netherlands Veggipedia, NAGF, Zoetermeer, Netherlands VRT NWS, Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie, Brussels, Belgium Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

VFH project Winter 2020 | 2021